360 TREES OF MINNESOTA. 



Propagation. See genus. 



Properties of wood. Heavy, hard, strong, coarse grained and 

 tough, although brittle when old; brown, with thick, lighter col* 

 ored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.6543; weight of a cubic foot 

 40.77 pounds. 



Uses. The White Ash is a good ornamental tree in spite of 

 its late foliage, and is desirable for timber belts in the milder 

 portions of this section, but on the prairies does not grow as 

 fast as the Green Ash. The wood is of less value when grown 

 here than when grown in the Northeastern States. It is used 

 in immense quantities in the manufacture of agricultural imple- 

 ments, carriages and furniture, for the interior finishing of build- 

 ings, and for any purpose where a light-colored, tough wood 

 is needed. It is manufactured into baseball bats, lawn tennis 

 racquets, polo mallets, tool handles, crutches, step ladders, tri- 

 pods, churns, tubs and pails. The wood of what is termed sec- 

 ond growth trees, i. e., those springing up after the original 

 forest has been removed or from seed scattered in open fields, 

 is usually superior in toughness to the first growth or large 

 trees. The inner bark of the White Ash has some medicinal 

 properties and is used in homeopathic practice. 



Fraxinus pennsylvanica. (F. pubescens.) Red Ash. 



Leaflets oblong-lanceolate to ovate, mostly coarsely serrate, 

 velvety pubescent on their lower surface like the young shoots. 

 Flowers dioecious; calyx present and persistent in the fruit. 

 This tree is easily distinguished in the Eastern States, but in 

 this section it merges into the Green Ash, and is often difficult 

 to distinguish from it. 



Distribution. It has about the same range as the Green Ash, 

 but is less common west of the Mississippi river. 



Propagation. See genus. 



Properties of ivood. Heavy, hard, rather strong and brittle 

 and coarse grained; light brown, with thick lighter colored sap- 

 wood streaked with yellow. Specific gravity 0.6215; weight of 

 a cubic foot 38.96 pounds. 



Uses. In this section the Red Ash is used for planting the 

 same as Green Ash. The wood is often substituted for that 

 of the White Ash, which is much more valuable. 



